Pilot books Cote D'Azur, Gulf De Lion

[kghowe]

Pilot books Cote D\'Azur, Gulf De Lion

Anyone know of any decent pilot books for above areas. We're looking to go East from Montpellier/ Port Camargue. How do I get my hands on detailed charts of these areas when still in the UK for planning of cruises and stuff. Admiralty ones seem to take weeks if Port Solent Chandlery don't have them.

Help please?

 

[Col]

Re: Pilot books Cote D\'Azur, Gulf De Lion

I have got a Mediterranian almanac, by Reeds, I think. I'll look tommorrow for you.

http://www.arweb.co.uk/argallery/boaters?&page=2

 

[ccscott49]

Re: Pilot books Cote D\'Azur, Gulf De Lion

theres a pilot book available, I have it onboard, but for the life of me can't remember the name, and I'm in Norway! boat in Ibiza. I think it was "Mediterean France" or similar, the Rod Heikel type of thing, but not by him. I think, Admiralty charts should only take days!

 

[tcm]

Re: Pilot books Cote D\'Azur, Gulf De Lion

meditteranean france (blue hardback) has nice piccies. All the phone numbers are wrong. There'll be good charts down there, the blue SHOM ones.

Also, get out of Port Carmargue, and then 4-5 stay miles offshore, continue East until you see a large floating wool mill, hang a left and that'll be Marseilles.

 

[tcm]

Re: tcm pilot: Port carmargue-menton

Hey ho, no pilot book. So, out of port carmargue as qucik as poss cos it is cheap and nasty. Quite cheap and nasty all the way to Marseilles, and shllow, stay weel offshore, best head south from PC, as shoals off carmargue go up to 4 miles.

all along the sth coast of france in season, there are big yellow bouys. Go inside the lines of yellow bouy when you want the props ripped off as qucikly as possible. Further inside the line of big yellow bouys are small yellow bouys. These are the swimming areas.

So, bosh along to Marseilles. Find a copy of Jan2002 for totally brilliant review and pilotage notes, ahem. At weekends, loads of boats will zoom in and out and show you the way, and the pleasure boats don't usually go the wrong way - look for the citadelle high oon a hill and aim for that. capitainerie is 0033 491 32 25 44. Private boat club SNM is 0033 491 54 32 03. Capitainerie will reduce the rates if it's your birthday, and esp if wifey tries to cut a deal. Proceed to Miramar at far end of port for massive blowout lunch. Lol about in cafes on the way back. Get on a noddy train to go up to Notre Dame de la Garde. recommended stay in marseilles 2 days or even 3, but only one night on the caopitainerie berths which get knocked about with boats cming in and out - snm much further down and better. also try cntl on 0033 491 49 82 00 who own berths if you're crap at french.

with a decent rib or outboard or cab, tyou can go to Vallon Des Auffes which is tiny cove far 2 small for big boat but just right to watch the sunset.

Next day, the outlying islands look ok but are a bit crap. Visit chateau d'if only by pleasure boat cos u can't leave the boat there. Count of Monte christo all made up that he was there.

Best go to the calanques, long beautiful creeks in limestone with cliffside hundreds of feet high, about 5 miles away due south and then east a bit. For lunch you need to book Le Lunch in Sormiou which is actually fab despite crap name 0033 491 250 537 needs to be booked a day ahead. Anchor in the bay. If le lunch is full, wait a day or try the other restaurant up the hill, but not as good.

The deserted and most dramatic clanque is clanaque d'en Veau, if you must anchor here put a line ashore and watch for pleasure boats ripping in and out. You can anchor here in settled weather, as Cumberlidge would say, which means only a total tit would anchor overnight here, and not in a new boat or one that they had paid for themselves. There is another calanque further on with more m's in it, forgot the name mormiou? but a bit dug up with quarries and bit boring.

There are v few berths at Cassis but you need to go cos v small lovely town close to little marina all like fifties south of france. Recommended for two or more days. Book by phone before hand, at about ten in the morning, and phone again at 11 and turn up at 12. tie up, pay for three nights, then go out for the day. tellem you are going for "un petit promenade en mer" which means you are coming back. Line left behind means the same too.

Now, further east than here is not as good until you get all the way along to St tropez. Toulon got bombed (flat) in the war, and it's a naval base. Also i haven;t been.

You can go to the island of porquerolles. Yes! Pork Rolls. Haha hah. And go and eat a ham sandwich! All the locals think this is a very funny joke. God marina here. You can hire a bike and er drive around. It's unspoilt, which what the pilot books say instead of "there is sod all there". Cafs and eateries around the marina.

Le lavandou is a bit of a dump, full of people who booked a holiday on the wrong yet cheap bit of the south of france. The people at the marina are very nice which is always a sure sign that it's a poxy place to visit. The beach is ok.

Normal policy is to book lunch the day before, but round the corner at club 55 you need to book a week be4 if august. It's on plamplona beach, a n-s running beach near st tropez. anchor about in the middle near all the massive boats. There is a dinghy or two buzzing around and normal policy is to bung him 10 euros on return trip. It's further south that the voile rouge (there a red sail on the beach) which is a crap ripoff for americans 25quid for spag bol. Club 55 much nicer. Have a look in the car park to drool over loads of flash cars.

Now, off to st tropez. Can't book ahead unless 21.5 metres long or more. From pampleonna you MUST go outside the massive cardinal markers which looks far too far but poplessness g'teed if you go between. At st trop You want to stop off at the capitainerie and grovel for a berth in the vieux port, which mite be poss in sept. Go to the girhelia for lunch if sept, else for dinner in season cos they open till late. Everywhere else on the front a bit crappo food wise. For a drink, go to the hotel Sube bar. You go thru and archway and then into a door and upstairs, all nice and comfy, but feels as tho you need to go to the hotel, but you don't. The very bestest place is outside on the balcony overlooking all the boats, tho the balcony is usually full cos only 3 tables BUT if you hang around on the port and watchfor the table at the far left to come empty then dash up , the people in the bar can't see that table, see, cos that table has no window behind so it still looks full on the balcony. Not v expensive at all.

Other two nearby place in golf of st t are port grimaud and ste maxime. Cogolin a concret dump realy.

port grimaud venice-like port/village. Rdio ahead else the harbourmaster does his nut. def worth a visit. Dump boat on the temp mooring pontton on right before capitaineries and walk in. When thay say there's no space, try hanging about, or nicely asking someone, or getting wife to plead or whatever, and ask for a berth "a l'interieure" either near the eglise (church) or near the restaurant Tartane (tartine?) which is near the action, and NOT on the capitainerie quay which is 2 far from the town square. 2 days here. Unicorn restaurant in the square is quite good but cheap, other places bit crap or lonely. Can get q taxi to the go-kart trasck 2 milkes towards Grimaud (which is on a hill 3 miles inland) if u have kids, v fast, pay extra for the faster red ones and get the kids the crappy blue ones and tellem you aren't allowed the other till they are 13. I mean 14. whatever.

Ste maxime is nice. They are fairly helpful AND it's not a total dump. Best restaurant is in the port, but bit lonely. nice market and cute little town across the road.

Nextalong decent place is Cannes, self explanatory, also lunch on beach from anchor in the bay at cannes.

antibes si a good place, so the capitainerie is faily unhelpful. Its so big that you can just dump boat and hope. If berths are empty at 9pm they ain't coming back so you can stay for free! they haven't a clue what is going on cos several times they told me to go to xx place and it already had a boat in it. In fact, however, firt time best to dump at capitainerie just on left after the BP fuel dock and ask nicely.

baies des anges is cheap with nasty concrete pyramids, but has a good pool (€10 ish to get in mind). Can stay in port all day till 5 for free - as you can in all the port mentioned - they don't charge for a lunch stop.

Next along is Nice, an ace place BUT thos bastard charter sailyboats from Moorings have stolen all the visitor space so you may not get in, a big pity. If you do get in, go to old town, they'll give u a map.

Cheapest place is bay of villefranche cos you can anchor out, even in not totally settled weather. and if it does cut up there's a marina.

And then there's st jean cap ferrat plastered in dogshit from all the rich ladies walking their dogs, not rec'd.

Fontvieille is an ok place. it's part of Monaco, actually "reclaimed" from the sea. The foundations were made in the 70's, probably by getting all the poor people and throwing the into the sea, until eventually only the rich people are left to live in the flats built on top of them. Good shelter in fontvielle, crap shelter in port hercules which which is yer axshul monte carlo next door. Can cab between the two.

But after villefranche i wd go to menton, nice old town and beach.

 

[jfm]

Cheap pliot book

Buy this month's Boat Int, which has a supplement with birds-eye pics of all Med marinas, and print off TCM's long post below, and you will in fact have a pilot book.......

 

[kghowe]

Re: tcm pilot: Port carmargue-menton

What can I say. thanks for a funny well written 'pilot book'. I'll let you know what we do when we get back. Thanks a bundle. As your Solent based if your ever in at Southsea look us up I'll buy you a beer, boats name is Dreamcatcher, currently a Targa 27 soon to be a sealine 320 statesman.

Kevin

 

[ccscott49]

Re: tcm pilot: Port carmargue-menton

Thank you kind sir!
I've printed this and will put it in my pilot book, excellent having local knowledge of places to go and not, plus good places for belly!

 

[tcm]

Re: how does it get back to UK?

are you trucking it from somewhere onm the s coast of france? where?

 

[kghowe]

Re: how does it get back to UK?

We've just bought the boat and the thought dawned on me that it didn't make sense to bring it back to UK straight away as at that time we hadn't had a summer at all. So we're staying on it for a while and then as part of the deal she's being trucked back to blighty. Spent ages dwelling over weather we should bring her back but we want the use out of it, which despite cheap flights we won't get over there. Hopefully our summer will start about mid Sept. Cost, split load £2.5k. My Targa cost £3k back in 96 to get back from Pt Grimauld so not all things have gone up!

Kevin

 

[charles_reed]

Re: Pilot books Cote D\'Azur, Gulf De Lion

Most comprehensive is the Bloc Marine Votre Livre de Bord: Mediterranée.

Buy it over there, cost 15 euros.

It's in French, with a few idiosyncratic English translations